Verdant Tea Offerings?

So I just pre-ordered some green tea from Verdant Teas, and since they seem to be a relatively new company, was wondering if anyone had any experiences/opinons on their offerings? I found the amount of information on their website to be very impressive, along with their devotion to getting fresh teas direct from the source, but of course marketing may not always match reality ... *crosses fingers* What do Teachatters think? Do they generally have good tea? Bad? Middle-of-the-road?

David is a member of TeaChat, "VerdantTea," but not active for over a year. (technically he needs to change his name since business names are not permitted for use as forum's user name)

As moderator of the forum, I endeavor not to speculate on vendors ... instead basing my comments on facts as I know them. I have not tried their teas and cannot comment factually on this vendor. Bloggers have much more liberty.

hopeofdawn wrote:So I just pre-ordered some green tea from Verdant Teas, and since they seem to be a relatively new company, was wondering if anyone had any experiences/opinons on their offerings? I found the amount of information on their website to be very impressive, along with their devotion to getting fresh teas direct from the source, but of course marketing may not always match reality ... *crosses fingers* What do Teachatters think? Do they generally have good tea? Bad? Middle-of-the-road?

I really love everything I get from Verdant Tea. The quality of his tea is apparent from the get go. Plus, Verdant offers Laoshan green, which is one of my favorite greens ever. I lived in Qingdao for about a year, and this is the green from the village of Laoshan about an hour away. I fell in love with the tea- it's what turned tea into a real daily devotion for me. When I moved away, I took about two pounds with me and hoarded it in my freezer to make it last forever, fearing I would never be able to get my hands on it again. Then lo! Here it is again! Now I get to drink as much as I want. And honestly, each season's harvest is better than the one that came before (and even more note-worthy, better than what I could get when I lived there). It's like I can keep learning about Laoshan tea, even though I'm so far removed from the tea and my friends at the tea markets.I'm lucky enough to live in the Twin Cities, so I get to go to Verdant's tastings every once and awhile. They're always great fun, and I leave walking out with tea euphoria. If you're ever in town, it's worth checking out.

David also just got written up in The Heavy Table (the Twin Cities online foodie journal). Not sure if I have link posting privileges yet, but if you search for "Heavy Table" "Verdant Tea," it comes up right away.

sherubtse wrote:Verdant is very popular with folks on Steepster. However, not everyone is a fan.

Two quick notes here.-I have the Star of Bulang in my collection. I would stake my life that it is not the same brick found on taobao. They are neither the same size, nor do they look at all similar in their wrappers. After reading though, the only similarity seems to be that they share the same name. I did not buy the taobao brick, so I cannot tell you I did a side-byside taste test, but I can say I have gotten burned on taobao before. But I have tried Verdant's sheng on multiple occassions, alone and with my tea friends, and we have all enjoyed. I am happy to have it, and that's that. I don't actively post on TeaChat, and I do not have a professional review blog, but I trust my own experience. You are free to take it or leave it. -Neither reviewer linked has tried any of Verdant's offerings. I hope they give themselves the chance in the future.

You are about to try some, so I hope you'll share you're impressions.

Which greens did you get? If it's the Laoshan, I hope you enjoy! I know I've already mentioned it, but it is my favorite greens. I think the autumn harvest will be coming in the next month or so, and I've really come to love that one in particular, especially as it gets colder. The spring, summer and autumn harvest all have their own character, and if you ever get the chance to do comparative tastings, I recommend it.

hopeofdawn wrote:So I just pre-ordered some green tea from Verdant Teas...

But since you mention pre-order.. you must have gotten the Dragonwell? Me too! I got the shipping notice yesterday, so since I live in the area, I might be getting it today or tomorrow! Facebook preview pictures look promising. Plus, it's from Mrs. Li! A friend of mine actually visited Longjing this spring, and David gave her Mrs. Li's address and contact info before she went. Michelle got to spend a few days with the family right during the Spring harvest, and the little bit of tea she brought back was just.. well, I can't wait to have some in my own cupboard. From both David and Michelle's stories, she's a genuinely sweet and lovely person.

I go by the same handle on Steepster, so you can see my reviews there for details. Again, not sure if I have linking privileges, so I'll leave it at that.(quick aside: my most recent reviews are quick with very little depth- it was a personal challenge to log the teas I was actually drinking. Because my reviews are long and they take me quite some time to write, I usually only write about teas I think need to be shared. My last real one was back in May.)

Spoonvonstup wrote:-Neither reviewer linked has tried any of Verdant's offerings. I hope they give themselves the chance in the future.

Just to get a few things straight - I wasn't commenting on Verdant per se, but rather Steepster's problematic algorithm that leaves Verdant being in the top 20 with an astonishing proportion of the teas there out of tens of thousands. No vendor, Eastern or Western, can be THAT good, period. Sorry, it just does not happen. I'm sure he has some great teas, but best out of tens of thousands? Colour me skeptical. To me, that's a failing of Steepster's scoring algorithm. I make no active judgement on Verdant's offering.

Having said that, I can say that a vendor like Verdant who is clearly selling puerh from other makers and who refuses to show you either the full wrapper or any other identifying marker is doing one thing and one thing alone - he's marking it up way beyond reasonableness. If he's not doing that, why not just give us all the info? Would you buy wine from someone who tells you the wine is "2007 Napa Valley" without telling you which vineyard it's from? For $120? Then why would you do that for puerh when you know that info is right on the wrapper that he's not showing you?

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts! I had read Marshaln and the other teablog's reviews about the puerh in question, but not being a puerh drinker myself, I was a bit more concerned about the quality of their greens/other offerings. I do have to agree, though, that Steepster reviews just aren't useful for me, and a shiny website can disguise some fairly substandard tea--which is why I love Teachat, where I can ask dedicated tea drinkers what they think.

I'm really glad their greens get the 'thumbs up' from Spoonsvonstup and Chesslover--I did make the plunge with pre-ordering their Dragonwell, figuring there was no way I'd be able to afford Shi Feng from anywhere else, but was still a bit nervous. Since you both love their Laoshan offerings, though, I'll definitely have to give them serious consideration for my next order, though.

Update: I tried Spring Harvest Laoshan Green and I think it`s not as good as Summer...it gets bitter wither longer times and I just liked the taste of Summer version better (sweet, oily, it reminds me of hay)...but if treated properly (right temperature and times) Spring version is still enjoyable tea.

MarshalN wrote:If he's not doing that, why not just give us all the info? Would you buy wine from someone who tells you the wine is "2007 Napa Valley" without telling you which vineyard it's from? For $120? Then why would you do that for puerh when you know that info is right on the wrapper that he's not showing you?

I suppose when you get right down to it, I purchase from Verdant because I trust them, whole-heartedly. I trust David's taste, and I trust his product, and this trust is the result of almost two years of business (from the very first paypal website!), never encountering any hardships or issues, and never having a tea let me down. Quite the opposite, each new tea routinely challenges what I thought I knew and helps me keep growing.

As for your concerns, I don't share them, at least, not with this vendor. Again, that's just built on trust as a result of much personal experience. All of the information I would find on the wrapper, I can find on the product description page of the tea. The "edition" you mention above is the amount that Verdant was able to secure and source (usually very small), how much they still have left. My experience with this vendor has shown me that I have nothing to fear, much to gain. In all of my dealings with David, both in person at tastings or online, he has always proven himself honorable, and ultimately in the service of tea; I'd eat both of my shoes if David ever tried to "pull a fast one" on anyone. If I had to, I would guess David prefers to use his image real-estate to show what the bricks actually look like, brewed and dry, but I'm sure you could ask him for more reference images; in my experience, his responses are quick and thorough.

To rephrase your example, if I had a wine vendor I trusted as much as I trust Verdant, I would be quite pleased to have them recommend that 2007 Napa Valley. If they recommended it to me as a bottle I would enjoy and that was worth having, I would want to purchase it, especially since I know I'd be kicking myself later if I missed the chance.

If my trust isn't enough, there's not much else I can say. In the end, it's based on my experience, and you'll choose to take it or leave it, which is absolutely within your rights.

hopeofdawn wrote:I'm really glad their greens get the 'thumbs up' from Spoonsvonstup and Chesslover--I did make the plunge with pre-ordering their Dragonwell, figuring there was no way I'd be able to afford Shi Feng from anywhere else, but was still a bit nervous. Since you both love their Laoshan offerings, though, I'll definitely have to give them serious consideration for my next order, though.

Hope you do! They really are beany, as described. Perhaps it's because of the Northern latitude, but I often find myself reminded of Japanese greens (even though it's not steamed and it's certainly Chinese). It's also an interesting comparison with Korean greens, since Laoshan is just across the bay from South Korea.

Hope you get Mrs Li's tea soon. Looks like mine should be waiting for me when I get home this evening.

Spoonvonstup wrote:-I have the Star of Bulang in my collection. I would stake my life that it is not the same brick found on taobao. They are neither the same size, nor do they look at all similar in their wrappers.

Spoonvonstrup,

Could you kindly post a wrapper picture of this Bulang? David was also free to point this critical detail in my post with a simple link to a photo but he did not.

How does this Bulang compare to other Bulangs or other sheng in that price range? Given plantation Bulangs from big factories such as Yongming do not command high prices in the marketplace, I'm surprised that you don't mind paying $125 more than necessary.